


Jason's Smile

by Naoshiro



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-19
Updated: 2013-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-05 04:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1089442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naoshiro/pseuds/Naoshiro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Contains Jasper breaking up, and assumes that Cupid's arrow made Nico start to fall in love with Jason. It's my first Heroes of Olympus fic, so I apologize if they might be OOC.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jason's Smile

"Hey, Piper? Do you know anything about Cupid?" Jason asked. He thought that the daughter of Aphrodite would know something about him.

Piper, who was also currently on watch for any monsters, turned her attention from the moonlit expanse of sea and sky to Jason, eyeing him warily with her kaleidoscope eyes and saying nothing. Jason couldn't blame her. He didn't talk to anyone for a while upon getting back on the Argo II, but simply gestured tiredly to the sceptre that was in Nico's possession whenever anyone asks about what happened in Split, and that would be enough to keep them from asking any more questions. They probably thought he and Nico were dead beat from fighting a monster for the sceptre, and he was determined not to let them think otherwise.

"Isn't he that little winged baby who shoots arrows at people to make them fall in love with the first person they see?" Piper finally spoke.

Jason would have cracked a smile at her stereotypical description of Cupid, but the mention of Cupid's arrows made him think back on what happened in Split just a couple of hours ago.

"Jason," Piper's clear soothing voice cut his train of thought. Jason sensed that he spaced out. He looked directly at Piper and she wore a worried expression on her face.

"You and Nico have been acting funny ever since you guys got back. I know something big must have happened in Split. Why won't you talk to anyone about it?" Piper seemed more concerned than mildly irritated this time. Jason just had to notice that cute little pout she was making, and somehow got to thinking that she really might be using some kind of Aphrodite magic on him to fill his brain with only Piper.

"Because _nothing_ _happened_." Jason was surprised and a little guilty that his voice sounded harsher than he expected. He kept talking but made sure he sounded calm. "Not all demigod missions have to be exciting. I just left a note for Reyna to find and we got the sceptre. That's all." Jason averted his gaze, choosing to look at the sky that started to get cloudier.

"Okay, but why did you ask me about Cupid?" Her expression was returning to an irritated one.

"… I was just thinking about how Eros is Cupid's Greek form and how he's also a son of Aphrodite." _Nice save, Grace_ , he thought to himself.

Piper finally smiled at this and laughed a little. "I'm related to a baby with wings," she said. Jason laughed with her and thought to himself how wrong she was.

"It's getting late. I should get back inside, see if the others need anything," Jason was already taking a step back as he said this. Piper smiled at him before repositioning her Cornucopia on her shoulder and looking back out at the sky and the sea. Jason went below deck, unaware of a pair of dark eyes watching him from the foremast.

* * *

"Leo, can I ask you something?" Nico heard Jason's voice from his hiding spot on the other side of the Athena Parthenos' body at the port corridor he shadow-traveled to. He sat hugging his knees in the small space between the statue and the corridor wall. He was aware of Leo sitting on the edge of the statue's body with an unfinished machine, and Jason standing near the contraption.

Nico suspected the son of Jupiter of revealing his secret to Piper. He couldn't hear that conversation from the foremast, but paranoia dictates he should spy on Jason. He just had to make sure he could trust the guy's word that it's still Nico's secret to share or not. Nico desperately wanted to believe that Jason didn't _(wouldn't)_ spill his secret.

"Shoot." Nico heard Leo say. A soft click-clacking sound slowly filled the room.

He heard someone take a deep breath, and assumed it was Jason who did it. "Do you think Piper trusts me?" Jason's voice clearly softened upon speaking, as if Piper could hear him from the lower deck. Nico was pretty sure it was only the three of them (and maybe the Athena Parthenos) that could hear all this.

The clicking sound stopped. "Well, yeah. She's your girlfriend, isn't she?" A loud whirring noise came from Leo's and Jason's side of the Athena Parthenos, but thankfully didn't last too long.

"Sometimes I think she doesn't. It's like whenever I think of Reyna I suddenly become overly aware of Piper. Like maybe she's doing some strange Aphrodite magic on me to fill my head full of only her."

Hearing that from Jason made something in Nico's chest stir. It felt painfully familiar, almost like the feeling he gets when he sees Percy talk about Annabeth, only Percy never sounded like he was complaining.

"Dude, are you seriously thinking that Piper would go so far as to use Charmspeak to keep you in a relationship with her?" Leo spoke with an air of utter disbelief.

There was a pause. Nico feared that they might have known there was someone else in the room with them and decided to sneak up on him in his vulnerable and tight little spot.

"…Yeah. I pretty much think she's capable of doing that." Jason admitted. Nico held a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Judging by Jason's voice, Jason was still where he stood.

"Gods, Jason. Are you even listening to yourself? I can't believe it's _you_ who doesn't trust Piper." Nico thought it was time to shadow-travel outta there. This conversation was clearly none of his business.

Jason's tone was hard and a little resentful. "But Cupid told me something when we were at Split." And now that he heard those words, it _was_ Nico's business. He'd postpone leaving until he hears everything Jason Grace had to say about what Cupid told him, and he hoped he wouldn't hear what he didn't want to hear.

A pause followed, and Nico heard Jason continue, seeing that Leo was waiting for what Jason had to say too. "He told me, _You've found true love, after all. Or do you still doubt yourself?._ If I'm not wrong about where I'm going with this, Cupid thinks there's something wrong with my relationship with her."

"And if I'm not wrong about where I'm going with this, I think there's something wrong with you," Leo said.

"I just think that Piper shouldn't mess with my head, especially when I think about what Reyna and I went through together. I mean, there's nothing about Reyna for her to be worried about. It's not like I was going to leave her for Reyna."

"Reyna this, Reyna that," Leo did a poor imitation of Jason's voice. "Gods, I think I'd understand if Piper really did work some Aphrodite magic on you to keep you from talking about Reyna. I'm going up there to tell her everything you just said."

Nico heard the light shuffling of clothes and the thumping of two sets of feet on the Athena Parthenos. Leo probably sat up and walked off with Jason walking after him. The footsteps ceased and Nico was guessing that Jason stopped Leo in his tracks.

"Please, Leo, this can only be between you, Nico and me. We can't let the others know that we've met Cupid at Split." And at that moment, Nico's heart almost stopped because he thought Jason _knew_ he was there.

"Alright, alright. Fine. But I hope you know what you're doing, man." Only one set of footsteps made its way back to where Leo was originally sitting, and the other set of footsteps grew fainter every second.

Nico shadow-traveled back to his room where the sceptre lay on a pillow. He sank down on the floor beside his bed and sighed in relief.

Nico had only one thought on his mind at that moment: _Jason didn't tell him my secret._

* * *

Breaking up with Piper last night after talking to Leo wasn't as ugly as he feared. She seemed to understand his concerns about trust, but only after giving him what he thinks is a much-deserved stinging slap to the face.

Jason slept through the morning well and, upon waking up, felt _lighter._ Not empty. Emptiness was different because it involved losing something. He technically didn't lose Piper, since they agreed to stay friends after the breakup. It'll take a while to get over the initial awkwardness, though. Nonetheless, everything seemed fine and dandy for Jason that evening.

Until he walked out the door of his room and was greeted by the sight of Nico di Angelo leaning against the wall with his hands in the pockets of his skinny jeans. The hallway lighting emphasized the dark bags under Nico's dark eyes, and his cheekbones. Jason thought that the son of Hades would have turned more heads if his face was less gaunt.

Although Jason had told himself that he'd be friends with the son of Hades and stick up for him after what happened at Split, he didn't know exactly _how_ to go about it. Winging it suddenly became a bit of a daunting task.

"Hey," Nico says. It was a little weird not to see Nico with his aviator jacket, but it was weirder and a lot more concerning to see the loose black shirt on the younger boy's skeletal deathly pale frame. Jason started to think that he'd even eat for Nico if he could, just to put some meat on those bones.

"Hey," he replied. Jason closed the door behind him. "Why were you waiting outside my room? Did you want to talk about something?"

"I wanted to ask if you had any ideas on how to get the sceptre to work. I wouldn't really use it until I need to, but I just wanted to hear what you think."

Jason remembered Diocletian's sceptre, whose orb seemed to send a chill down his spine whenever he looked at it for too long. "You could try asking Hazel." Jason paused. "D'you wanna grab something to eat?"

Nico continued to observe Jason with his dark brown eyes. His pale face was unreadable, and that unnerved Jason a little.

"Yeah, okay," he responded. Jason smiled and thought it was a start.

* * *

Nico found Jason's smile weird.

Not that it was an ugly or creepy smile. The Ghost King just didn't understand what Jason would smile about. It was just him agreeing to get dinner together before Jason took the night shift. Jason's smile wasn't as wide or as toothy as Percy's smiles, but it felt so sincere. Nico noticed how Jason's icy blue orbs actually looked warm when the corners of his eyes crinkle while he smiles.

That small, charming smile unwittingly made his heart skip a beat. But Nico would never admit that.

They were on their way to the mess hall when Jason decided to break the silence with a question.

"So, how's your arm?" he asked this in a hushed tone as he glanced at Nico next to him.

Nico met his gaze and looked down on his sword arm. The same arm that had been struck by Cupid's arrow. He flexed it, stretched it, and wiggled his fingers.

"S'fine. It doesn't really hurt." Nico shrugged, answering in an equally hushed tone. He looked down and saw that Jason matched his walking pace with Nico's.

He looked back up at Jason's face and noticed the little scar on his mouth twitch.

"You didn't feel any different after you got shot?" Jason didn't look at him as he asked this time.

"It hurt like a bitch yesterday, but no. I don't feel different." Which was a lie. Nico indeed started to feel different. He started noticing the littlest things about Jason just this morning, and wondered why he started to care about those little things. Nico's beginning to think that there may be some truth to the popular belief about Cupid's arrows.

The thought was also beginning to scare him.

"Huh." That was all he heard from Jason.

"…Wait, what do you mean "Huh."?" Nico raised one brow and looked questioningly at him, not caring if his voice wasn't as quiet anymore.

"What I meant was that I think it's strange that Cupid's arrow had little to no effect on you." Jason replied in a much softer tone.

Nico suddenly stopped in his tracks when they were already a couple of steps away from the mess hall. Jason looked back and saw him staring wide-eyed with his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

The Ghost King's voice was almost inaudible but definitely disbelieving as he asked, "Jason, are you expecting me to fall in love with you?"

Jason stepped closer to face him, which Nico assumed was so he wouldn't have to raise his voice in order to be heard. Jason did that endearing little smile and said, "I would honestly be fine with that if it happened," while he nodded slowly. He turned his back to Nico and walked forward, going first into the mess hall.

Nico felt his mouth open in shock, but closed it immediately and walked in after Jason.

* * *

It surprised Jason how easily he had said those last words to Nico.

It surprised Jason how he felt like he wasn't lying when he said those words.

It didn't surprise Jason, however, when he saw what little food Nico had on his plate. Just a piece of buttered bread.

He couldn't take seeing Nico eat so miserably anymore, and, since he sat next to Nico, decided to pile his untouched plate of steak and mashed potatoes onto Nico's plate.

Nico looked at Jason as if he grew a second head.

Jason's mouth was a thin line. "You have _got_ to eat more, man."

Hazel and Piper were at the table, too, but they refused to comment. They looked on, shocked, like: _since when did Jason Grace care about Nico di Angelo's diet?_ Even Hazel didn't go so far as to interfere with how Nico wanted to eat.

Nico's glare seemed to lower the room's temperature several degrees, but Jason stood his ground and continued to look back at Nico with a pursed mouth and a tiredly pleading look in his eyes.

The son of Hades just sighed and picked up a knife and fork, slicing up the steak. Jason had a stupidly triumphant smirk on his face which Nico didn't fail to see and add to the list of things to sulk over for the rest of the night.

Jason got a new plate (pizza this time), and dinner went on smoothly.

* * *

Nico was up at the foremast again. He had the sceptre in his hand and his sword strapped to his belt.

Thanks to Jason continually piling food onto his plate for what he felt was the longest dinner he ever had, he felt extremely full. He couldn't remember the last time he ate so much.

But it's not as if he disliked having Jason pay attention to him. It's a little like when his sister would urge him to finish his food back then. Nico started to smile at the thought of Bianca.

His eyes spotted Jason on deck. Jason always did the night shift with Piper and Frank.

Nico then remembered being told that Jason would be fine if he fell in love with the son of Jupiter. He tried to imagine having a chance with Jason Grace. It was both a frightening and a pleasing prospect.

"Hey, Nico." Speaking of the devil…

Jason had flown his way up to the foremast and seated himself beside Nico. "Any luck with the sceptre?"

"No luck." Nico murmured. He looked over at Jason and saw him smiling that stupidly triumphant smirk.

"What's with you and that smile?" Nico scowled.

"I was just thinking that I'd have to make sure to eat breakfast with you if I want you to eat more." Jason's smirk didn't look like it was going away.

Nico could only groan as his shoulders sagged in defeat. "Grace, I swear to gods, _stop feeding me too much._ "

Jason laughed. "Okay, fine. We'll start with one plateful and work our way up slowly." The Ghost King frowned. Jason saw this and said, "Hey, seriously, it isn't really healthy for you to eat so little. You could at least let me give you more food."

"…I understand," Nico said quietly. He took comfort in the fact that Jason cared about his wellbeing. He was even rewarded with a bonus: Jason's sincere smile. Nico could get used to seeing it a lot.


	2. Nico's Eating Habits

Nico gained weight.

Well, _regained_ is the better term for it. Jason decided that the Ghost King did not look like a walking dead person anymore.

Even as they were stranded somewhere on the northern coast of Africa, Jason kept watching out for any changes in Nico's physique to ensure that the younger boy hasn't reverted to his inadequate diet. Jason couldn't be around enough to keep piling food on Nico's plate because of the tasks at hand.

First and foremost, they had to get out of that place. And in order to do that, they had to repair the ship, but the _venti_ have apparently lost interest in helping them. They (well, Jason) had to convince the _venti_ and their king to help them leave. And even if these problems could be dealt with, they still had to find Leo, meet up with Reyna, and proceed to the Doors of Death to save Percy and Annabeth.

Even with all these in mind, the son of Jupiter felt bad that he wasn't around for Nico the past few days. Sure, they were sometimes in the same general area, but they always had something to do. Literally no time could be spent with the other. Jason promised himself that he'd work on building a more solid relationship with him once he's less busy.

But at least it seems that Nico's eating fine without him around. Jason even noticed the son of Hades' muscles getting more defined recently, thanks to the loss of the aviator jacket due to the blistering heat. He figured the guy finally discovered how to summon dead soldiers with Diocletian's sceptre and sparred with them when he wasn't sticking with Hazel to help out with repair duty.

Jason briefly considered talking to Hazel about doing things for Nico to make him feel more welcome and less alienated, but decided that it could wait when they get the Argo II back on track. He continued to wait at the balcony of the South Wind palace.

* * *

Nico's mood had started to sour the moment the Argo II got stranded in Africa.

Jason was always away, trying to persuade the lord of the South Wind to help them leave the area, and when he wasn't at the palace, Jason toiled in the sun with the rest of them at the dock, trying to repair the ship. Verbal exchange had been minimal, as it was of utmost importance to get repairs done and everyone has been too busy to even make small talk.

Nico noticed that Jason rarely smiled anymore. Nico briefly considered that he himself wouldn't be smiling either if he had been stranded in the scorching heat for five days and counting, not that Nico did a lot of smiling in the first place.

But the son of Hades had long come to the conclusion that being stuck where they were now was hard on everyone. Their skin had darkened several shades from much sun exposure (though oddly Nico's skin was still so very pale), and their faces were grim as their eyes were dead (not that Nico's face and eyes weren't like that in the first place, either).

Jason's current state was what Nico noticed and observed the most. And Nico cursed himself for watching the Roman whenever he got a chance.

His golden blond hair turned a sickly pale shade. His brilliant blue eyes lost their sparkle. His lips were chapped and always in a thin line on his tired face. There was even a noticeable slump in Jason's shoulders that wasn't there before the disaster with Khione happened.

Nico grimaced and cursed himself even more for paying that much attention to the son of Jupiter. He felt like his mood that day couldn't get any worse, but it did.

Nico could feel Percy nearing the Doors of Death.

* * *

Jason didn't like where this conversation with Nico was heading.

It was bad enough that he had to tell Nico that he had no luck so far with trying to convince the South Wind to help.

Jason was unamused when Nico said that he sensed Percy drawing near the Doors of Death, for two important reasons. One, he didn't mention Annabeth, an act whose implications Jason chose not to comment on. And two, Jason was clearly bothered by how Nico could sense the son of Poseidon. He wondered if Nico could sense people based on how important they were to him, and proceeded to wonder if Nico could sense him that way.

Nico was getting antsy and agitated as the conversation progressed, and Jason figured it was because the guy needed to let out his feelings about what happened at Split. He had intended to wait for Nico to breach the subject himself, but now he thinks it would be a good time for him and Nico to finally talk about it.

But that turned out to be a bad idea because Nico proceeded to speak as if no one would accept him, as opposed to how people consider Jason to be some epitome of perfection as a son of Jupiter. The Nico at that moment wasn't making it easy for Jason to try to be on friendly relations with him. Jason thought it was so much easier when it was just about Nico's eating habits.

Jason tried to salvage the situation by telling Nico to take a risk and stop hiding, but all that earned him was an ultimatum from the Ghost King.

"I'm going to honour my promise," Nico said, his voice not louder than a whisper. "I'll take you to Epirus. I'll help you close the Doors of Death. Then that's it. I'm leaving – forever."

He noticed that Nico had said it as if that promise involved only Jason. It wasn't "I'll take _you guys_ to Epirus," or "I'll help _you guys_ close the Doors of Death." His words felt a lot more personal, but cold as ice.

Jason didn't have time to think about how he might have fucked up his chance to actually _be_ friends with Nico, since the wind god was expecting him now. He wished to say goodbye, but Nico had already left him at the balcony.

* * *

It was good to have Leo back.

Despite Nico saying he didn't like to be touched, he sincerely welcomed the son of Hephaestus back with a handshake. Leo's return would mean that the ship can be repaired, and the journey to Epirus will end soon.

He stood a little away from the group as they ate and talked, wishing not to be involved. Nico thought it'd just ruin the atmosphere if he did involve himself, especially now that he saw Jason smiling for the first time since Africa.

It bothered him that he still cared about Jason and his annoyingly endearing smile even after that incident at the balcony.

He thought back on that incident, and figured he was making quite a scary face while remembering it because some of the people who passed by and looked at him all backed off and had scared expressions.

In any case, Jason was right when Nico thought about it. It was hard to admit, but all he really did _was_ hide.

He looked back at the table where the others were seated, but when his eyes scanned for Jason, he, instead, saw Hazel gasp and point to the sky.

What Hazel pointed to was an ominous streak of darkness in the distance. The others didn't seem to see it, but she and, surprisingly, Jason could see it like Nico did.

It was a terrible sign.

"That can't be…" Nico muttered. "Greece is still hundreds of miles away," he said as the darkness flashed again.

"You think it's Epirus?" Jason asked.

Nico nodded. "The House of Hades is open for business."

* * *

They got to Greece so fast that Nico almost kicked himself for saying that they would never make it in time. Almost.

It was like he and Hazel were hosting a grim little demigod field trip, indicating and describing areas like the Necromanteion, and the river Acheron.

Once they got off the ship, Nico acted like the main tour guide, leading their group where they were supposed to go, and warning them about the possible risks of the perilous journey underground while he and Hazel stated interesting little facts about Pluto-er, Hades, and the traditions that concerned the god of the underworld.

* * *

Jason knew that the barley cakes were necessary in order not to die from poison, but seeing Nico hold a cupful of liquid death even after they all ate a barley cake was still a cause for concern.

Jason had to bite his tongue because he didn't trust himself not to make a strangled noise when Nico had drunk from the chalice. The Ghost King then offered it to Jason. "You asked me about trust, and taking a risk? Well, here you go, son of Jupiter. How much do you trust me?"

Jason didn't hesitate. He took the cup and drank from it. He passed it on to the next person, all the while hoping that his display of trust would let Nico trust him too.

* * *

"I have the strangest boner right now," mutters a dumbstruck Jason that, after looking in the Ghost King's direction when he heard a laugh, saw Nico _smile_ in the middle of a chaotic mix of undead legionnaires and monsters fighting against each other.

Nico smiling. That was a first for Jason. He could get used to seeing it a lot more often.

Jason did a half-smile and continued to fight, marvelling at the valiant efforts of his friends to stop the onslaught of enemy monsters. He was proudest of Frank, who commanded the dead legionnaires so effortlessly.

* * *

After the monsters had been defeated and the dead legionnaires dismissed by Frank, it was back to the most urgent order of business, which was to get to where Leo and Hazel were.

Nico wanted to curse himself for getting exhausted from using Diocletian's sceptre, mostly because he would have collapsed if Jason hadn't been there to catch him, and partly because what Jason did made his heart do a backflip.

But he was still a little too tired to protest, so he let Jason hold him up a little longer.

They had to get to the Doors immediately.

* * *

It felt really strange to see Jason give Percy a bear hug. Nico wondered how it would feel to have been on the receiving end of Jason's embrace, and if Jason would welcome him with open arms if Nico had been the one who had just come from Tartarus.

And that's when it hit him. Nico realized he no longer cared for Percy, but truly cared for Jason.

And the son of Hades did not know how to take that in.

He still stood a little away from the group that had been rejoicing in Percy and Annabeth's return. He must have been making a pained face because Hazel clearly looked worried when she turned to Nico.

Nico felt so guilty for making Hazel worry about him, and kissed her forehead. Hazel had been very brave, and he told her that their father would have been very proud. The warmth of her hand cupping his face was very reassuring.

* * *

The first time Jason shadow-traveled with Nico from Split to the Argo II, they had held hands. This time was no different, although he hadn't been the one holding Nico's hand. He noticed that it was Percy on Nico's right, and wondered if Nico was feeling okay with that.

They succeeded in shadow-traveling to an area not far from where the ship was supposed to be, and Jason observed how quickly Nico let Percy's hand go. Percy didn't seem bothered by it as he had turned his sea-green eyes to Annabeth.

Story-telling took place as they walked back to the ship. After Jason had relayed the news about Frank becoming praetor, someone had wanted to know how Percy and Annabeth's trip in Tartarus went. Jason saw Percy hold Annabeth's hand while saying it was a story for another time, and glanced at Nico.

Jason saw Nico looking back at him. As soon as Nico saw Jason's eyes meet his, Nico looked away. If Jason wasn't mistaken, the Ghost King sported a hurt expression on his pale face.

He wanted to take Nico somewhere private because he thought Nico needed to talk to someone about Percy, but Jason had to wait until they were all on the Argo II before he could do that.

* * *

After lunch, Jason followed Nico to his room. The son of Hades wouldn't look at him directly and wouldn't say a word. He merely let Jason follow him until they were in front of Nico's bedroom door.

Nico went in, and Jason simply stood outside. The younger boy looked back and said, "Well? You coming in or not?"

The son of Jupiter legitimately looked shocked as if going into Nico's room was anything out of the ordinary. He went in and closed the door behind him. Jason's face now proceeded to have a look of concern.

"So I guess you're leaving at sunset, huh." Nico thought Jason looked almost wistful as the son of Jupiter said this.

Nico sat down on his bed and removed his aviator jacket. "Yeah," he replied as he kicked off his shoes.

"Does it really have to be forever?"

Nico only stared at him because he didn't know how to reply to that. Jason kept talking, presumably because he had plenty to get off his chest.

"Nico, you can always come back," he continued. "You can always visit. You have me. And Hazel. And I'm pretty sure the others would be friends with you if you'd let them. I accept you and who you are, Nico. I'll always be around when you need me, or if you need someone to talk to," Jason stammered.

"And if you do leave… just… eat well…" Jason looked down at the floor.

* * *

Nico started laughing.

"Eat well? Grace, you've got to be kidding me. I'm going on a life-threatening mission with Reyna and Coach Hedge, and that's what you say to me?"

Jason could feel his ears turn red at that comment. He looked at the laughing boy on his bed and drank in the rare sight of Nico di Angelo amused over something. If Nico was intent on leaving, Jason had to have this memory of Nico's laughter to hold on to.

"What? I didn't exactly approve of your lunch choice earlier. Half a pomegranate, Nico? What happened to our one-plate system?" the son of Jupiter tried to sound and look hurt.

Nico's laughter subsided, and a melancholic smile lingered on his pale lips. "Well I guess I can take back what I said about leaving forever. I mean, if you really meant what you said about me being allowed to come back."

The son of Hades looked back up at Jason, who was looking at him with happy blue eyes and a sickly sweet smile which might have meant that he made the Roman glad with his words. "I really meant it, Nico. I'll wait for you to come back."

* * *

Nico felt like taking another risk. The guy was already in his room, and he was going to leave him in a couple of hours anyway. "Jason, remember what you said to me outside the mess hall?"

Jason's mouth parted a little in shock. He remembered the time he told Nico that he wouldn't mind if the younger boy fell in love with him. "Yeah. I do," Jason nodded slowly.

Nico desperately hoped Jason still meant what he had said that day. He wanted his heart to stop beating so fast, but he made sure to look directly at Jason when he said, "I'm in love with you, son of Jupiter. Are you fine with that?"

Jason's lips formed a pleased smile. "Very fine, Nico." And now the Ghost King had absolutely no luck getting his heart to beat at a normal pace.

Nico couldn't believe Jason's smile could get any warmer, but it did. He almost gagged at the sweetness. Almost.

Nico stood, not exactly sure what he's supposed to do, fully aware that Jason was still in his room.

"Um. Nico? Do you want me to leave so you can rest?" Jason asked.

Nico thought it was cool that he was being considerate given the current situation, but all he managed to say was "Dammit, Grace," before hastily embracing the Roman as tightly as he would dare.

"I guess that means no," Jason said in a slightly amused tone as he took it as a sign that it was fine to touch Nico. Nico could feel Jason hug him back and rest his lips on his forehead. He could feel those soft lips curve into a smile against his head.

* * *

"It really isn't fair that I'd be leaving you under these circumstances." Nico's voice was barely louder than a whisper as he buried his face in Jason's chest. Jason wondered if Nico could feel how fast his heart was beating.

"Yeah. Just when I've given you my heart." Jason, once again, tried to sound genuinely hurt. It only made Nico hug him tighter.

Jason Grace didn't need to be struck by Cupid's arrow to know that he fell in love with Nico di Angelo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always seen Jason as the type to befriend someone before upgrading the relationship to that of lovers but IDEK.


End file.
